A look at O's draft preparations with Brad Ciolek

After picking first in the draft in 2019 and second overall last year, the Orioles have the No. 5 pick in round one this year. The three-day, 20-round draft begins at 7 p.m. on Sunday, July 11, when picks No. 1 through No. 37 will be selected.

During a Zoom interview with reporters Friday, O's supervisor of domestic scouting operations Brad Ciolek provided an update on the club's draft prep for this year.

"It's a little bit of a different animal (picking fifth)," said Ciolek. "We have to, obviously, wait to see what happens with those four selections before us. And the preparation might be a little bit different in terms of the strategy. You know, in years past, picking one or two, we might have five or six options, and this year we might have 10 or 11, ultimately because we don't know what is going to happen in front of us.

"At this point, right now, there doesn't seem to be a whole lot of consensus at the top. We've heard rumblings, but at this juncture we're just keeping an open mind, doing the best we can to rank them internally ourselves and then ultimately see what happens once it's the night of the draft and who goes before us."

Ciolek sized up the outlook in the top half of the first round.

"I would say that, in terms of looking at the top 15 or 20 selections, there are a lot of high school players this year, particularly the shortstop position," he said. "I wouldn't be surprised if you saw four to five high school players taken in the top 12-13 selections. It's entirely possible. There are also some college hitters that have had very good years, and there are always a couple of good college arms that have to be considered, as well as a couple of high school arms. But I would say, in terms of the depth, I would say high school shortstops, high school infielders stand out here among this group."

Ciolek has heard the speculation that the Orioles could sign another first-round player to an underslot bonus, leaving more money for players later in the draft. It probably won't surprise you to know that yesterday he didn't tip his hand on whether that will happen again this year.

"I've seen those mocks," he said. "I'm not exactly certain - maybe they are just going off what happened last year and the strategy we incorporated last year. But in terms of riskiness, I think the bottom line is ultimately, we have to make a decision on who is the best fit for our organization? Who is the best player for our organization at that point in time?

"And ultimately what happens after that depends upon who we take with the first overall selection, and then we kind of build out a road map from there. But in terms of a risky strategy, I wouldn't necessarily say that's risky, especially if there are guys that you like in the draft and go ahead and sign. And they add to the pipeline in the minor league system."

As always, teams want to know what they'll have to spend to sign the big-dollar top picks.

"It's always an important factor," said Ciolek. "I would say that it's kind of a secondary factor. The first thing that we want to get right is make sure we get an impact player, especially when it's a top five pick in the country. But signability does come into play, especially with the high school guys more often than not. And typically, if there are some college athletes who are sophomore-eligible and might have an extra year, we do weigh that into that process as well. But I would say it's probably secondary in terms of things we're looking at, but it does play a factor."

The Orioles have four picks in the first 76 selections, picking Nos. 5, 41, 65 and 76. The slot amount for the No. 5 pick is $6,180,700. And the Orioles' total pool amount of $11,829,300 is fifth-most among all 30 clubs.

You can find the club linked to numerous players in various mock drafts, including University of Louisville catcher Henry Davis, considered the best college bat in this draft. He hit .370/.482/.663 this season, with 15 homers and 48 RBIs. The O's just took a catcher in Adley Rutschman with the top pick in 2019.

"We don't really look in terms of a certain demographic that we're looking to draft from or a position," said Ciolek. "We want to take the best player available. And ultimately, if it's a catcher, we're not afraid to shy away from that, regardless of what we have in the system or what we have on the major league roster."

There is also the chance that Davis could play first base or a corner outfield spot for whichever team selects him.

I asked Ciolek which factor is most meaningful in the O's draft prep. That can range from the veteran eye of the scout in the field to the data and analytics they now get on most of the players to draft models that teams now construct.

"I would say it's a blend of everything," he said. "We obviously value the grass roots of our scouting level, the scouting our scouts do. We also take into account the analytics work that Sig (Mejdal, vice president and assistant general manager, analytics) and Michael Weis (analyst, baseball analytics) and the models. And we also rely heavily on the makeup factor for each of these kids. So I would say it's a blend of all three items.

"I know that Mike and Sig came over here from Houston and essentially are now kind of a baseball think tank here in Baltimore. But, you know, Mike did start as a scout with the Cardinals, and we still hold those fundamental roots of scouting to a high level and we look to incorporate those in our process."

Praise for Mountcastle: O's manager Brandon Hyde talked about Ryan Mountcastle's vast potential yesterday after he was named the American League Rookie of the Month for June.

In 26 games in the month, Mountcastle hit .327/.382/.634/1.015 with four doubles, nine homers and 26 RBIs.

"Yeah, I don't think he's even close to scratching the surface on the kind of hitter he can be," Hyde said. "You see in the last month what happens when he shrinks the strike zone and when he swings at strikes. Really happy and proud of him with the progress he's made from April to now. Put in a ton of work. Understanding what he needed to do to get better. Was frustrated in April. I think he was pressing too, which made him chase a little bit more than normal. Just really got back to a simple approach and you see the damage he can do when he swings at strikes. He had a heck of a month."

O's lose series opener: Shohei Ohtani homered twice, reaching the 30-homer mark, and scored the winning run Friday night as the Los Angeles Angels walked off the Orioles for an 8-7 win in the last of the ninth.

Click here to read the game story and some of the postgame quotes.

After scoring 27 runs in the Houston series sweep, the Orioles scored six in the first three innings last night. Trey Mancini mashed a 451-foot homer and Domingo Leyba hit his first major league homer. Anthony Santander hit a three-run double and Austin Hays' RBI double in the sixth tied the game at 7-7.

"We scored six runs in the first three innings and were swinging the bats extremely well," Hyde said. "Trey got us going with that deep home run to center field. Lot of guys chipping in. Good to see Haysie once again off (Steve) Cishek, a tough righty to hit off of, drill a ball into left-center for an RBI. Good to see Santander be on time with a fastball and get one down the line for three RBIs. Sevie (Pedro Severino) with a big hit there also.

"Swung the ball extremely well early. We had a tough time off (Raisel) Iglesias. I've seen him for years and it's 98 (mph) with a nasty slider. I knew that would be challenging. But I thought we took good at-bats for the majority of the game and scored seven runs. More times than not you win."